Gwyneth Dunwoody denied she has been a thorn in the government's side

Ms Dunwoody believes because it was a sub-committee for her first two years, the two-term rule does not apply.

She claimed the government wanted to "gently manoeuvre" its own candidates into select committee chairman posts.

A party leadership bid to oust her from the post in 2001 failed when over 100 Labour MPs rebelled against the move.

'Hard fight'

Speaking on BBC Radio Four's World at One, Ms Dunwoody said she would not be taking a stand if the job was going to a former committee member.

"Select committees have always chosen their own chairman and I think the clear indication that the whips are not just manoeuvring , but are actually saying to people 'you will be the chairman' is a pretty good reason to give them a hard fight."

She accused the government of trying to "dump" ex-ministers onto such committees, giving them a "paid job, to encourage them to feel they are still loved".

Governments that ignore the views of the majority frequently find they trip over their own feet Gwyneth Dunwoody MP

Ms Dunwoody said it was the House of Commons authorities who had made the ruling that she was eligible to stand a second time, as her previous chairmanship was on a sub-committee.

"It's not something I made up along the way," she said.

Asked whether the government could succeed in forcing her out of the chair, she said: "Governments can always win, but ... governments that ignore the views of the majority frequently find they trip over their own feet."